Congressman Paul Hodes Votes for Historic Housing Relief Package
Congressman Paul Hodes, member of the House Financial Services Committee, today voted for the historic housing relief package that passed the House of Representative by a vote of 272-152. The measure would provide mortgage refinancing assistance to keep at least 400,000 families from losing their homes, to protect neighboring home values, and to help stabilize the housing market. The measure also expands the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program so many borrowers in danger of losing their home can refinance into lower-cost government-insured mortgages they can afford to repay.
"This legislation is historic and offers the most innovative and comprehensive solution to the housing crisis yet. It will give relief to the millions of working families struggling to pay their mortgage with the rising price of gas and food," Congressman Paul Hodes said. "Our economy cannot rebound unless we act now to give relief to millions of Americans and provide confidence to our markets, our investors and the business community that we will not let our economic institutions slip toward failure."
Last week, we learned that the number of homes facing foreclosure nationally more than doubled from last year. By 2009, nearly 4300 homes in New Hampshire could be foreclosed.
The bill also protects taxpayers by requiring lenders and homeowners to take responsibility. This is not a bailout; in order to participate, lenders and mortgage investors must take significant losses by reducing the loan principal. In exchange for an FHA guarantee on the mortgage, borrowers must share any profit from the resale of a refinanced home with the government.
The bill also gives the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to increase the already existing line of credit to Freddie and Fannie for the next 18 months, as well as giving the Treasury Department standby authority to buy stock in those companies to provide confidence in the GSEs and stabilize housing finance markets.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says "There is a significant chance -- probably better than 50 percent -- that the proposed new Treasury authority would not be used before it expired at the end of December 2009."
"I'm proud Democrats and Republicans worked together on this important legislation," added Hodes. "Together, we've crafted the right bill to address this crisis and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to strengthen the economy."